Safety shoe



Dec. 18, 1962 B. R. ODONNELL SAFETY SHOE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 30, 1961 INVENTOR. aim Aka 4?. atom/:11

Dec. 18, 1962 B. R. ODONNELL SAFETY SHOE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1961 INVENTOR. saw 4,90 2. ODOAM/FLA 52 United States Patent 3,068,593 SAFETY SHOE Bernard R. ODonnell, Emmaus, Pa., assignor to Endicott- Johnson Corporation, Eudicott, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 30, 1%1, Ser. No. 134,954 2 Claims. (Cl. 3672) This invention relates to improvements in safety shoes,

particularly to safety shoes aifording protection to the upper portion of the foot as well as to the toes.

It has long been common practice to provide safety shoes with rigid metal box toes to afford protection to the toes of the wearer. More recently various expedients have been adopted to protect the upper portion of the foot, particularly the metatarsal and instep portions thereof. However, the safety shoes incorporating these expedients have presented recognized diflieulties and disadvantages. Thus, many of the protectors have been unduly cumbersome increasing the bulk of the shoes and interfering with the flexing thereof. Other protectors have interfered with removing and applying the shoe. Also, many of the protectors have been permanently attached to the shoe and when they become worn or broken it is necessary to discard the entire shoe.

It is a prime object of the present invention to overcome the difliculties and disadvantages heretofore encountered and to provide an improved safety shoe affording protection to the upper portion of the foot as Well as to the toes, in which the protector is relatively light and compact and will not interfere with the flexing of the shoe; in which the protector is pivotally mounted so that the opening at the front of the shoe can be exposed to facilitate putting the shoe on and taking it oh; and in which the protector is detachably applied to the shoe so that it can be removed and replaced with a new protector should it become Worn or broken.

My invention contemplates the provision of a safety shoe having a toe protector in the form of a relatively rigid box toe permanently secured in the shoe upper so as to be supported by the sole assembly and having a foot protector in the form of a relatively rigid flap detachably and pivotally secured to the rigid box toe with the forward end of the flap in overlapping relationship with the box toe.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a safety shoe embodying my invention showing the foot protector flap in closed or operative position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shoe with the foot protector flap detached therefrom and with the cap portion of the toe broken away so as to expose the safety box toe;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in the direction of the arrows on the line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the toe portion of the shoe in the direction of the arrows on the line 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the foot protector flap showing the undersurface thereof.

In the drawings I have shown one form of shoe to which my invention is applicable but it should be understood that the specific construction of the shoe may be varied. The illustrated shoe comprises an upper assembly secured to a sole assembly 12.

The sole assembly comprises generally an outsole 14 above which is disposed a Welt 15. The welt extends around the periphery of the outsole 14 in the usual man ner and a filler 16 is provided above the outsole at the central portion thereof. Insole 17 is disposed inside the 70 The forward or toe portion of the shoe upper is provided with an outer layer of tough, flexible material such as leather, as shown at 18 and a lining 19 of soft, flexible material such as cloth or soft leather.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the welt is secured to the outsole by a line of stitches 20 and the insole, upper and lining are secured to the Welt by a line of stitches 21. Heel 22 may be secured to the sole in the usual manner.

The upper 10 is open at the top in the usual manner as shown at 23 and the forward face of the upper is formed with a closable opening 24 so as to permit the shoe to be opened and applied to the foot of the wearer and to be closed and held firmly in place on the foot.

A tongue or gusset 25 is secured inside the opening 24 so as to bridge the gap when the shoe has been laced. Suitable fastening means such as the eyeletted apertures 26 are provided along each side of the opening to receive the shoe lace 27.

The foregoing is illustrative of one type of shoe to which my invention is applicable. However, as indicated above, it should be understood that my invention is also applicable to shoes of different specific construction.

e'rally a safety box toe 30 and a foot protector in the form of a relatively rigid flap 32 pivotally and detachably con-I nected to the safety box toe. The safety box toe is made of a suitable rigid material, as for instance a metal such as brass, aluminum alloy or preferably steel. The forward portion of the boxtoe is of the usual concavoconvex shape terminating at the rear edge in an open channel shaped portion. The box toe is positioned in the toe portion of the shoe between the outer portion 18 of the upper and the lining 19 finding direct support on the sole assembly.

In order to provide detachable pivotal support for the foot protector flap 32, I provide internally threaded ferrules 31 on opposite sides of the box toe and suitably secured in position as by being welded to the box toe. The outer ends of the ferrules project outwardly through the forward portion 18 of the upper in a manner to afford access to the threaded interior thereof.

The foot protector flap 32 is relatively rigid and isshaped to conform to the metatarsal and instep portions of the shoe upper. Thus, it is concavo-convex in both its transverse and longitudinal dimensions with the transversely concave and longitudinally convex surface facing to wards the shoe. It is long enough so that its leading edge is disposed in overlapping relationship with the box toe and its trailing edge extends upwardly over the instep portion of the upper.

The flap preferably comprises an outer, relatively hard, rigid member 33 and an inner relatively soft, yielding and flexible lining 34. The outer member may be made of suitable material such as aluminum alloy or steel or a hard, rigid plastic such as high impact polystyrene or phenolic resin such as Bakelite. The lining 34 may be made of any suitable soft, yielding flexible material such as soft rubber or plastic, sponge or foam rubber or plastic such as foam polyvinyl chloride or of a soft, yielding woven, felted or matted fibrous material such as textile fiber or asbestos. The lining 34 is secured to the outer member in any suitable manner, preferably by means of an adhesive.

In order to pivotally secure the forward portion of the flap 32 to the forward portion of the shoe, I provide the flap at the opposite sides of the forward portion thereof with a pair of eyeletted apertures 35 which register with the open ends of the ferrules as shown in the drawings. The flap is placed over the shoe upper with its forward end overlapping the box toe and the apertures in registry with the ends of the ferrules and it is detachably secured in place by means of a pair of threaded studs 36 formed with enlarged heads engaging the outer surfaces of the apertures 35, spacer portions extending through the apertures 35 and threaded ends engaging into the threaded ferrules 31. Thus, the'foot protector flap may be applied to the safety shoe in a simple manner and may be removed from the shoe in an equally simple manner by unscrewing the studs 36. In this manner the flap may be replaced whenever it becomes'worn or broken.

The rigid outer member 33 of the flap 32 is so shaped and formed as to have lateral and downwardly projecting portions 38 at the two sides thereof which engage the. upper surface of the welt of the sole assembly as shown most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 4 when the flap is in closed or operative position. In this manner when a force, load or impact is applied to the flap it is transferred either to the box toe 30 and thence to the sole assembly or is transferred directly to the sole assembly by the projecting portions 38 of the flap thereby protecting the foot, particularly the metatarsal and instep portions thereof.

When the shoe is put on or removed from the foot of the wearer the lacing is opened and the opening 24 spread apart and flap 32. pivoted upwardly. After the shoe is applied to the wearers foot the lacings are tightened and the flap 32 pivoted downwardly to the position shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 covering the metatarsal and instep portions and also covering the major portion of front opening 24 with the lower end of the flap overlapping the box toe.

Suitable means may be provided for releasably securing the flap in closed or operative position and for this purpose I have provided a small loop 40 projecting above the upper edge of the flap and suitably secured in position by ascrew '41. The shoe lacing may be extended through the loop when the shoe is closed and thereby retain the flap in operative position.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an improved safety shoe of the type which afiords protection not only to the toes but also to the upper portion of the foot of the wearer, in which the foot protector is relatively light and compact; which is soarranged-that the shoe may be readily put on and taken off; and in which the protector may be readily removed to permit its replacement when it has become worn or broken.

Modifications maybe made in the illustrated and de scribed embodiment of my invention without departing from the inventionas set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A safety shoe comprising: a shoe sole assembly forming the base of the shoe; a shoe upper assembly secured to the sole assembly and having a toe portion, a metatarsal portion and an instep portion, said upper having a permanent opening at the top and a closable opening at the front to provide for the insertion and removal of the foot of the wearer; a toe protector in the form of a relatively rigid box toe located at the toe portion of the upper and permanently secured therein so as to be supported by the sole assembly; a foot protector in the form of a relatively rigid flap long enough to extend'over the metatarsal and instep portions of the upper and which is concave-convex both transversely and longitudinally with the transversely concave and the longitudinally convex surface facing towards the shoe upper assembly and conforming generally in shape to the metatarsal and instep portions of the upper with the leading edge of the flap in overlapping relationship with the trailing edge of the rigid box toe; and attaching means in the form of threaded ferrules secured to opposite sides of the box toe and a pair of apertures formed in opposite sides adjacent the lower end of the flap with threaded studs extending through said apertures into the ferrules for pivotally securing the said flap to the rigid box toe so that the flap may be pivoted between operative position adjacent the metatarsal and instep portions of the upper'in covering relationship to at least a portion of the closable opening and inoperative'elevated position spaced from said metatarsal and instep portions and exposing said closable opening, said attaching means being detachable so that the fla'p may be removed and replaced. 2. A safety shoe as set forth in claim 1 in which the sole assembly projects laterally from the sides of the shoe and the foot protector flap has downwardly and laterally projecting portions which engage the upper surface of the projecting portions of the sole when the flap" is in operative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,339,193 Roberts Jan. 11, 1944 2,625,753 Null et al Jan. 20, 1953 2,829,449 Edwards'et a1. Apr. 8, 1958 2,833,058 Wilmanns et a]. May 6, 1958' 2,842,872 Shultz July 15, 1958 2,915,837 Schlecht Dec. 8, 1959 2,972,824 Schlecht Feb. 28, 1961 2,988,829 Johnsen .Tune 20, 1961 

